- (1.) I have heard learned Counsel for Appellant Santosh Kumar Gupta in Criminal Appeal No. 196 of 2008, Santosh Kumar Gupta and Ors. v. Union of India and Anr. and on the bail prayer of Smt. Manju @ Dulari Devi in connected Criminal Appeal No. 1661 of 2008, Smt. Kiran devi @ Bua and Anr. v. Union of India and Anr. Both these Appellants have been convicted for offences Under Sections 20, 23 and 29 NDPS Act, by Additional Sessions Judge, F.T.C. Court No. 4, Fatehpur in S.T. No. 477 of 2006, Union of India through Intelligence Officer, Narcotic Control Bureau., Varanasi v. Santosh Kumar Gupta and Ors. vide impugned judgment and order dated 31.11.2007 and consequently bail prayers of both the aforesaid Appellants in the two connected appeals are being considered by this common order.
(2.) Unfolded prosecution allegations, as are contained in the complaint filed by PW2, N.N. Upadhyay, Intelligence Officer, N.C.B., Varanasi and later on testified by him as well as P.W. 1, Sri S.N. Bist during trial are that on a secret information received by them on 23.3.2006 at 3 a.m. in N.C.B. Camp Office, Bhujaini, Kanpur informing them that Appellant Santosh Kumar Gupta resident of Dev Nagar, Kanpur is importing charas(cannabis) in a huge quantity in a Bolero Car U.P. 78 AC-0111, that these officers along with other associates of NCB and local police officers laid a trap on Hussain Ganj Crossing, G.T. Road, Fatehpur where at 8.30 a.m. they apprehended a Mahindra Bolero Car having aforesaid registration number coming from Allahabad and proceeding towards Kanpur. The aforesaid Bolero Car was stopped and after disclosing their identities and observing statutory formalities Under Section 50 NDPS Act, officers of N.C.B. conducted personal search of five passengers namely Girijesh @ Sajjan Shukla, Santosh Kumar Gupta, Surya Kant Pandey, Kiran Devi @ Bua and Manju @ Dulari Devi but nothing incriminating was found from their personal search. They subsequently searched the transport vehicle and found a built cavity between rear and middle seats and on checking it, they found brick shaped cannabis (charas) inside it packed in polythene. Testing it from their field trap test kit, recovered contraband was confirmed to be charas(cannabis) weighing 100 kgs. From total seized narcotic contraband three separate packets were prepared, two packets weighing 40 kg each and one packet of 20 kg. From 40 kgs packets 2-2 samples of 24 grams each were prepared and from the packet of 20 kg, one sample of the said quantity(24 grams) was drawn. Accused persons were arrested same day 23.3.2006 and their arrest memo were prepared. They were produced before the magistrate on the following day 24.3.2006 and were remanded to judicial custody. Seized contraband was kept in NCB godown and compliance of Section 57 thereafter was made. Drawn samples were dispatched to Government Opium and Alkaloid Works, Ghazipur for testing and it's report confirmed seized contraband to be cannabis. Aforementioned search and seizure lasted from 8.45 a.m. till 2 p.m. and during course of it statements of five accused Under Section 67 of N.D.P.S. Act were also recorded where the accused persons are alleged to have made confessional statements.
(3.) On the preceding factual matrix complainant N.N. Upadhyay, PW2, lodged a complaint on behalf of Union of India against accused persons resulting in registration of S.T. No. 477 of 2006,Union Of India v. Santosh Kumar Gupta and Ors., in which trial, Additional Sessions Judge, F.T.C, Court No. 4, Fatehpur found the accused guilty and, therefore, convicted them as aforementioned vide impugned judgment and order of conviction dated 31.11.2007.;